Struggle in Russia

Dmitri's gift undoubtedly gave Butin a boost. Naturally, Igorevich was in trouble for eight lifetimes, and he was miserable when he was dealt with.

Until the moment he escaped and was shot to death, he couldn't figure out why Butining had to fight against him.

But it doesn't matter. When he gets to heaven, no, he should go to hell. He has plenty of time to think about this problem. I believe that his soul will definitely figure this out through endless suffering.

In this battle, Dmitri not only regained Nezhin but also eliminated the Igorevich gang. He killed more than 2,000 people and captured more than 4,000 people. The rest either disappeared or ran away.

But this is not a big problem. The most important thing is that the harvest from this battle is so rich.

Butnin's surrender brought the number of surrender troops under Dmitri to more than 60,000. Coupled with the mobile troops in his hands, his total strength finally reached 100,000.

Although he is still at an absolute disadvantage compared to the remaining 300,000 rebels in Kiev, it is already a world of difference from when he first arrived in Ukraine.

In addition, he also recaptured Ichnia and Priluki without any blood, leaving only sixty or seventy kilometers away from Kiev. Even if Kozelets couldn't win it, he still got a new route to Kiev.

In short, Dmitri was still very happy. The only thing that worried him was why there was no news from Kozelets.

Logically speaking, the battle over there should be over. Did the surprise attack fail?

The surprise attack did not fail, but there were some complicated changes. At least when Li Xiao arrived at Kozelets with the subsequent main force, the city had been basically captured, and only a few enemies relied on the bridge over the Ostel River to resist.

"The enemy's firepower was very fierce. They deployed twelve 18-pound cannons on the other side of the river. My cavalry attacked twice and was repulsed."

The person who said this was Major General Ojelinen, commander of the 12th Cossack Cavalry Brigade, who was also the commander in charge of the surprise attack on Kozelets.

After nightfall the day before, he led the cavalry to drive 40 kilometers straight into Kozelets.

There was actually nothing to say about the battle. Orginio didn't expect that the Russian army would suddenly arrive at his door. During the day, he was joking with his men and waiting to see Igorevich's jokes.

Who would have thought that he would become a melon to be eaten at night? Tell me what this is!

Of course, he himself didn't actually think so much. When he was attacked, he immediately chose to run away, because the whole city was filled with shouts of killing, and he had no idea how many Russian troops were coming.

And according to his experience, the Russian army has always been strict in fighting, and the one who comes to fight him must be the main force of the Russian army. He only had a few men under him, and he was not prepared at all in a hurry. How could he be the opponent of the main force of the Russian army, so why not run away and wait to be put in a cage with Igorevich and sent to St. Petersburg?

Orginio ran so neatly, which also caused the rebel army in the city of Kozelets to lose their command and fall into chaos. With the chaos aggravated, how could they be the opponents of the sturdy Cossacks? They were defeated in a matter of minutes.

At this time, Major General Ojelinen was also a little distracted. The expected hard battle did not exist at all. The enemy on the opposite side was worse than tofu. If he didn't dare to go in and do some fun, why are he waiting?

So he ordered his cavalry to pursue the entire front immediately. He must chase the poor bandits with the remaining brave men and drive away Orginio completely.

But Orginio still had some skills. He actually set up an artillery position on the south bank of the Ostel River. His artillery firmly blocked the only channel on the river and successfully covered his remaining troops' retreat to Ostel. South bank of the Jer River.

Ojelinen did not take the artillery on the other side of the river seriously at first, and only organized a company and platoon-level charge, thinking that these half-baked artillerymen would flee in confusion as soon as his blade reached them.

It's just that he underestimated the rebels, and soon a platoon of cavalry disappeared without a trace under the rain of bullets from the opponent. Unwilling to give up, he organized two more charges, but each time his cavalry was blown to pieces by ruthless shotguns before they could reach the bridge.

Let's put it this way, Ojelinen lost a total of more than 400 people in last night's night attack, but nearly 200 casualties were paid on this bridge alone.

The most important thing is not the issue of casualties, but that Orginio suddenly came to his senses. He saw from the impact of the Russian cavalry that the Russian army did not seem to have many people, otherwise the charge would not be more than ten. A wave of several twenty cavalrymen, in the Cossack style, would be at least one or two hundred, and more often one or two thousand would be normal.

In other words, the one who came to mess with him should not be the main force of the Russian army. Damn it, a false alarm is too shameful!

After reacting, he immediately began to gather his troops to organize a counterattack, and once he returned to the north bank of the Oster River, if the main reinforcements led by Li Xiao hadn't arrived, Ojelinen might not have been able to withstand it and gave away the fruits of victory again. go back.

From this point of view, there is indeed a big problem with the quality of the Russian commanders. Li Xiao remembers clearly that Dmitri repeatedly told Ojelinen that after capturing Kozelets, the position must be consolidated as soon as possible and precautions must be taken. The enemy's counterattack also specifically stated that if the sneak attack to seize the city goes smoothly, the main force in the rear must be notified as soon as possible.

It's just that he didn't do these two things at all. You don't have to guess that he must have been careless after seeing the sneak attack and seizing the city go smoothly, thinking that the rebels were vulnerable. He didn't even think about defense and counterattack. He just wanted to beat the drowned dog and get more credit. .

If Li Xiao hadn't arrived in time, I'm afraid the duck would have flown away.

Fortunately, the problem is not big now. After Li Xiao led the main force to Kozelets, he immediately devoted his troops to fight back Orginho's counterattack. He was not in a hurry to capture the bridge, but ordered his troops to consolidate the defense line immediately.

Of course, Li Xiao didn't do nothing. He gave Ojelinen's cavalry a new task and ordered them to immediately go to the upper and lower reaches of the Ostel River to find bridges that could cross the river.

If it can be found, lead the cavalry across the river immediately, and then attack the remaining troops of Orginio guarding the bridge from the flank.

If there is no bridge available, let the engineers see if there is a suitable location for building a pontoon bridge, and build a pontoon bridge to cross the river as soon as possible.

In short, the goal is to get the cavalry across the river as soon as possible, and then cooperate with Kozelets' main force to flank Orginio's remaining troops, defeating or annihilating them in one fell swoop.

For Li Xiao, this battle would be meaningful only if the bridge in Kozelets was captured. Fortunately, Orginio had not yet thought of destroying the bridge, otherwise there would be big trouble.

Just because he didn't think about it now doesn't mean he won't think about it in the future. He must seize the bridge as soon as possible while the iron is hot!